Invitation to gymnastics squad

[dh85]

My daughter has just turned 9 and upon the recommendation of her dance teacher and her natural ability I enrolled her in a gymnastics summer scheme. She has had a total of 4 lessons in 2 weeks, her fourth only being today. Her coach waited behind this afternoon to speak with me, she asked if I had enrolled DD for the new term in September, which I had. She told me DD was 'very good' and the head coach had passed comment about her floor work, she then went on to say that DD should at least be moved to advanced recreation but it would be preferable that she entered Team Gym! Now I'm very new to all this and I'm a bit confused why they want to move DD already? Shouldn't she get a well rounded gymnastics base first before specialising in one thing? Can anyone give me guidance or advice? Thanks!

[ReallyTired]

Wow! I imagine that all the training from dance has crossed over. She must be strong, flexible and well coordinated. I guess that she must have learnt a lot of the basics in holiday gym or at her dance class.

[Rainbowqueeen]

At my kids gym school they are always on the lookout for kids who have potential and generally put them in different groups altogether where they tend to progress faster and train more. It tends to be very intensive rather than focusing on fun. It sounds to me that this is what they are suggesting

I would have a chat with them about the differences between the classes and then work out what you and your dd want to do.

[Bonbonchance]

If she can dance she'd be great for Team Gym floor routines, they're full of dance/movement with required skills. If indeed the coach means "Team Gym" not just a gym team! Maybe they have the view that with some training she'd slot right into a competition team eventually?

[OneFlewOverTheDodosNest]

It sounds like your DD has natural potential which they've spotted. If you only wanted her to do gymnastics as a fun activity then I would check what the gym team entails - competitive gymnastics isn't just more intensive in terms of work but also the expected time put in.

[RandomMess]

Yep they think she has potential, my question back is what do you want for your DD?

Are you happy for her to get on the roundabout of competitive gymnastics, very many hours of training, potential long term damage to her body with a slim chance that she may make it to the top?

Or does she just want to enjoy it and have fun?

[dh85]

Thanks everyone, I've been stressing about this since yesterday! DD is a good gymnast, its undeniable, her dance teacher knew she would excel at it but didnt want to lose her as she is a fantastic dancer also. I want DD to be happy and have fun doing something she loves, and at the moment she is! Im just worried this is too much too soon but also that if she passes up this chance that she wont get it again in the future?! I cant talk to family about this so you guys are my only source of help! Sorry for the long winded posts 😔

[dodobookends]

What does your dd want to do - does she want to go for it?

If she has a lot of potential, then the desire and motivation has to come from within her, as the training at this level will be pretty intense, and will soon rack up to a lot of hours in training.

[dh85]

Shes happy and excited about the prospect of being picked for Team Gym, but would be nervous and worry about having to compete

[smellyboot]

Ask lots of questions as I suspect she won't be able to continue dance as well as gym. Gym training at that age is often 12-15 hours a week. My daughter was asked at age 6 but another sport was her passion (6 hrs a week) and that also left time for beavers / swimming / tennis.
They did explain it was gymnastics and total commitment or nothing, to us. My DD made the choice.
That's the case for all the gym competition or development squads in our area.

[mammmamia]

Is Team Gym actually the same thing as a squad?

[dh85]

Its classed as a discipline on their website. I spoke with the coach who takes Team Gym and she told me there were tryouts for it at the end of August, DD seems to be happy enough to go along with things for now, I will be asking a lot of questions at the tryouts about training times and cost etc. If DD is happy enough to continue then we'll find a way to work around it

[MrsHulk]

Do spend some time researching the long term health impact. Gymnastics puts enormous strain on young and growing bodies. A good friend of my sister did gymnastics pretty seriously (competing nationally) when young and by her mid-twenties has significant joint and back problems which her doctor says were caused by the gymnastics. Even a reputable team and coach runs those risks, so it's something you need to be comfortable with before letting your dd decide!

[BertrandRussell]

The very first thing you need to find out is what the time commitment is.

[dh85]

For now we have moved her into advanced rec which is one day a week for 1.5 hrs. We'll let her try out and if all goes well we'll see how she gets on.

[2014newme]

The advanced girls at our gym train 20 hours per week, more in the holidays, youngest is 8. The normal squad do 4 hours per week, youngest is 4.
Recreational do 1.5 hours per week.
No idea what team gym is.

[OldGuard]

My daughter does 25 hours a week - she's 10

Find out exactly what they are talking about - being on the competitive team takes a whole family commitment and serious sacrifices (eg can't go away on vacation during certain times, training comes before parties, etcetc)

[a7mints]

Team gym do a group floor routine, trampette and tumbles.They are generally lower ability and train much fewer hours than artistic gymnasts

[beardedladydragon]

My ds was asked to be in the Team Gym squad. He really enjoyed it but ultimately they wanted him to train around 16-20 hrs per week. To me that was too much. It is never something you can make a living out of. It is a hobby and I didn't think he should spend that amount of time solely on one activity.